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Nortel said that despite the ongoing carve-up of its assets by administrators and bankers, it was "confident that the products and services it supplies will continue to be supported without impacting customers for the foreseeable future".

The pair have traded together for 15 years.

Global Services has its own financial problems. The outsourcing division was responsible for the BT Group making a quarterly net loss last week, after failed contracts and restructuring charges contributed to a £1.6bn write down. ®